- The project is promoted by the Department of Health with the participation of the Prince Felipe Research Centre, the Polytechnic University of Valencia and other firms of the region and research institutions
- The project seeks to develop new technologies that prove how effective genomics can be for diagnosis and treatments as well as to assess the integration of this discipline in the current healthcare systems
- 'FutureClinic' will improve patient care as it contributes to the advance of personalised treatments of either hereditary diseases or those which are caused by genome mutations such as cancer
Indra, the premier IT company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe, leads along with Bull Spain the 'FutureClinic' project which seeks to research and develop new technologies to introduce personalised genomic medicine in the health care system. The project, boosted by Valencia's regional government through the Department of Health, has an execution period of two years after which a pilot will prove how useful genomics is and how it can help reduce healthcare costs.
Indra leads this project along with Bull Spain in a consortium which also includes the Polytechnic University of Valencia through the OPI (Public investigation organ), Valencian firms GEM BioSoft; Imegen, Institute of Genomics; iProcuratio Consultores and VeraTech for Health SL as well as other research organs like ITI, the Information Technologies Institute; FISABIO, Foundation for the Promotion of Healthcare and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Community; CIPF, The Prince Felipe Research Centre; PROS, the Research Centre for Software Production Methods and I3M, the Institute of Instrumentation for Molecular Image.
'FutureClinic' aims at contributing to the progress of genomics by relying on its efficiency and on its capacity to offer cost reduction in comparison to current healthcare systems. It will also undertake the necessary renewal of the medical information systems in order to store and manage the information. The analysis, design and development of the proposed solution will take place in the real scenario of Valencia autonomous region with the purpose of making use of synergies of ongoing projects which are in line with the objectives of the 'FutureClinic' platform.
To achieve this, the project will investigate new algorithms and genomic information processing systems for better performance and expeditiousness in analyses; and therefore in treatments. Besides this, the project will engage in the study of the integration of genomic information with the current healthcare systems and how data should be presented to doctors so that solutions incorporating the genome of the patients with that of the different diseases in clinical analyses can be developed. Furthermore, the project envisages the creation of a bioinformatics strategic office at the Prince Felipe Research Centre.
'FutureClinic' will test the incorporation of genomic data in the healthcare system using two real cases with clinical groups of the autonomous community of Valencia. The concepts obtained will be applied by developing a thorough system which enables use of the patient's genome within the healthcare system in order to improve diagnosis and prognosis. The clinical groups will collaborate with the outlining of the necessary data and of the most adequate interface for the doctor to access the information.
Once the investigation and concept test phases are concluded, development, production of prototype and commercialization will follow. Besides this, a website will be created to show the evolution and to publish results.
Significant advantages
The outcome will help advance in the study and knowledge of genomic information and in the concepts of the current healthcare systems by presenting the necessary mechanisms to introduce personalised medicine in the system, not only in prognosis but also in diagnosis and adequate treatment. 'FutureClinic' has also efficiency and sustainability to offer to the healthcare system in the medium-long term due to cost reductions in terms of patient care and medicines. In addition to this, it will add proactivity to medicine costs by promoting alternative practices.
All in all, the solution will contribute to significantly improve patient care as genomic information will make possible to diagnose certain pathologies which were unidentified due to the amount of genes involved. This led to long waits to obtain the results which entails an economic cost.
On the other hand, a large part of the developments of 'FutureClinic' can be extended to other autonomous regions in Spain and to the international arena, as other European nations such as Germany, France, UK, Holland or Belgium are already working on similar solutions.
The arrival of genomic medicine
Genomics is very useful to treat those diseases with either a genetic cause (hereditary diseases) or those originated by genome mutations (well-known cancer). The amazing latest advances in sequence techniques favour the arrival of genomics, a discipline which will provide enough knowledge to make personalised decisions regarding treatments.
'FutureClinic' represents an obvious commitment to a new clinic scenario where the healthcare systems which have not undergone renewal to incorporate the new features will stay behind and will depend on more advanced ones in terms of technology. This implies more limitations in patient care and in cost-effectiveness.
The capacity to handle, process and convert the large amount of data generated by these technologies into useful information could be critical in the fields of research and world class developments. Furthermore, the project will be specially important to implement new diagnosis methods and treatment protocols and to develop medicines oriented to patients.
Thanks to the project, the Autonomous Region of Valencia takes a qualitative leap in the investigation in genomics, thus opening new paths in knowledge and applications in real life. The project shows its commitment to innovation in the healthcare sector, which has been complemented with outstanding solutions in the last years where Indra has collaborated with the development of some of the main systems of the AVS like Abucasis, the hospital management system; GAIA, the electronic record system, the Nominal Vaccination Registry and the Population Information System.
Indra
Indra is the premier Information Technology company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe and Latin America. It is ranked as the second European company in its sector according to investment in R&D with over € 500 M during the last three years. In 2010 revenues reached € 2,557 M and the international market already accounts for a 44%. The company employs more than 35,000 professionals and has clients in more than 110 countries.
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